Cocos Islands Tsunami warning cancelled

A tsunami warning for the Cocos Islands has been cancelled after a shallow 6.6-magnitude underwater earthquake struck the southern Indian Ocean.

The warning was issued on Saturday evening following the quake northwest of Perth, at a depth of only about 7km, but was cancelled hours later when the risk of a tsunami abated.

People in Australia's Cocos Islands had been advised to move away from beaches and coastal areas because of the possibility of dangerous rips and currents.

However, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology cancelled the warning about three hours after it was issued.